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Sat Sep 4 2010

 

It is a government requirement that all schools have an anti-bullying policy; this policy was prepared with reference to DCSF guidance: Bullying: Don’t Suffer in Silence (DCSF 0064/2000)

 

Park Primary School is committed to providing a caring, friendly and safe and secure environment for all of our children, so they can learn in a secure atmosphere without anxiety. We aim to make all those connected with the school aware of our opposition to bullying, and we make clear each person’s responsibilities with regard to the minimisation of bullying in our school. If bullying does occur, all pupils should be able to tell, and know that incidents will be dealt with promptly and effectively.All adult members of our school community should be vigilant in recognising that bullying is taking place, and deal with it thoroughly and with sensitivity.    

 

 

1. To make clear to children, staff, parents and guardians that bullying is unacceptable.

2. To encourage openness in which children, staff and parents act immediately if there is any suspicion of bullying.

3. To provide a clear framework for dealing with incidents of bullying.

4. To educate children in resisting bullying.

5. To support those being bullied and a framework within which those bullying others may recognise and reform their behaviour.

6. In accordance with the school’s ethos to instill in all members of the school community a sense of caring and kindness for one another.

7. To ensure that as a result of staff being respectful towards children at all times, children will internalise and model these human encounters and thus treat each other respectfully.

8. To ensure that the adults in the children’s world do not endeavor to diminish children so that they lose respect amongst their peer group, but rather enhance them so as to continue to develop their self esteem.

 

 

9. To promote a transparency in human relationships so that children, by default, are held to account for the feelings they may evoke in others

Characterised by an imbalance of power, bullying is the use of aggressive behaviour - physical, verbal or isolating, with the intention of hurting another person. It can be short term or continuous over long periods of time.

 

1        Emotional: Being unfriendly, excluding, tormenting, threatening gestures

2        Physical: Pushing, kicking, hitting, punching or any use of violence

3        Racist: Racial taunts, graffiti

4        Sexual: Unwanted physical sexual contact or sexually abusive comments

5        Homophobic: Because of, or focussing on the issue of sexuality

6        Verbal: Name-calling, sarcasm, spreading rumours, teasing

7        Cyber: All areas of internet, such as email, internet chat room misuse, mobile threats by text messaging & calls.

8   Misuse of associated technology: i.e. camera and video

A child may indicate by signs or behaviour that he or she is being bullied. Adults should be aware of these possible signs, and that they should investigate if a child:

 

• Is frightened of walking to or from school

• Begs to be driven to school

• Changes their usual routine

• Is unwilling to go to school (school phobic)

• Begins to truant

• Becomes withdrawn anxious, or lacking in confidence

• Starts stammering

• Attempts or threatens suicide or runs away

• Cries themselves to sleep at night or has nightmares

• Feels ill in the morning

• Standard of school work falls

• Clothes torn or books damaged

• Has possessions which are damaged or " go missing"

• Asks for money or starts stealing money (to pay bully)

• Has dinner or other monies continually "lost"

• Has unexplained cuts or bruises

• Comes home starving (money / lunch has been stolen)

• Becomes aggressive, disruptive or unreasonable

• Is bullying other children or siblings

• Stops eating

• Is frightened to say what's wrong

• Gives improbable excuses for any of the above

• Is afraid to use the internet or mobile phone

• Is nervous and jumpy when a cyber message is received

• Lack of eye contact

• Becoming short tempered

• Change in attitude to people at home.

 

These signs and behaviours could indicate other problems, but bullying should be

considered a possibility, and should be investigated.

 

Pupils are encouraged to tell anybody they trust if they are being bullied, and if the bullying continues, they must keep on letting people know.

Pupils are invited to tell us their views about a range of school issues, including bullying, in the annual pupil questionnaire.

 

 

·         If you are being bullied tell someone, preferably a trusted adult

·         If you can, write down everything that has been said or done to hurt you. Be careful only to write down things that have really happened.

·         Do not blame yourself – it is not your fault

·         Make friends or stay with a crowd

·         If worried, stay near a supervisor at playtime and, if possible, walk home with a friend

·         Expensive toys and large sums of money should be left at home

·         Try not to show you are upset

·         Try to ignore it

·         Stay calm – say “No” clearly and walk away to safety. If possible, tell an adult straight away

 

 

 

 

 

 

·         Try to be a friend to the person who is being bullied

·         Ask if they feel they can talk to someone. If they won’t talk to someone and you are worried about them, go to a trusted adult.

·         Never join in with a bully – physically, verbally or by isolating another child

·         If you see anyone being bullied, tell an adult immediately

 

 

 

·         Recognise that your behaviour is seen as bullying – physically, verbally, or by isolating; this is wrong and can have a long lasting effect on others

·         Even if you think that bullying is just a laugh, children who are bullied and those who care for them, feel very scared and/or upset

·         If you are angry and upset about something, talk about it with a trusted friend or adult, instead of taking it out on someone else

·         A bully doesn’t have many true friends

·         Change bullying your behaviour straightaway and become a ‘hero’ not a ‘baddie’

·         Speak to an adult about your bullying behaviour

 

Parents have a responsibility to:

·         Support the school's anti-bullying policy, actively encouraging their child to be a positive member of the school.

·         Allow the school to resolve the problem with the bully/ies and their parents. All parents are strongly requested that they do not involve themselves in any investigation to bullying.

·         Encourage their child to behave responsibly on entering and leaving the school site. The school strongly urges parents not to incite their child to defend themselves through the use of inappropriate language or behaviour.

·         Contact their child's class teacher immediately if they are concerned that their child might be being bullied, or who suspect that their child may be the perpetrator of bullying.

·         Contact the Assistant Headteacher/Headteacher if they are not satisfied that their concerns have not been dealt with appropriately. Parents will be asked to come in to a meeting to discuss the problem.

 

·         Follow the school’s complaints procedure (as detailed in the school prospectus), if they remain dissatisfied.

 

·         Ensure that their child arrives and leaves the school site safely.

·         Ensure that their child continues to attend school regularly and punctually.

All the staff in our school take all forms of bullying seriously, and seek to prevent it from taking place.

 

The ethos and working philosophy of Park School means that all staff actively support children to have respect for each other and for other people’s property. Kind and polite behaviour is regularly acknowledged and rewarded. Children are actively involved in the prevention of bullying. Park School is working towards Rights Respecting School Award (UNICEF and children are encouraged to utilise their rights and responsibilities as part of our pursuit for global citizenship. Class charters are apparent in all classes and support the school’s stance for RESPECT and hence commitment to anti-bullying practice. 

 

·         School Vision: promotes a shared climate of trust and respect for all.

·         Curriculum: Uses a range of methods to promote anti-bullying practice: drama, role-play, stories etc.,

·         Circle time: Used to praise, reward and celebrate the success of all children, and thus to help create a positive atmosphere.

·         Peer Support Systems: Buddies encourage cooperative play and friendships / School Council monitor anti-bullying systems in school e.g. worry box, surveys

 

·         Well-Resourced Play Opportunities: All children have equal access to school equipment and play areas including indoor provision in the Pastoral Care Department

 

·         Staff Vigilance: Staff to be aware of potential for bullying: careful regard to their own supervision, to follow school discipline code etc 

·         Staff Training: All members of staff routinely attend training, which equips them to identify bullying and to follow school policy and procedures with regard to behaviour management.

 

Staff have the responsibility to:

·         Investigate and where appropriate, report an act of bullying to the Assistant Headteacher/Headteacher.

·         Produce a written report of all incidents that occur in the in/around the school site.

·         Where a member of staff becomes involved in an incident, they will make the appropriate means to support the victim/s and challenge, sanction and support where necessary, the perpetrator/s.

·         Where a child is being bullied over a period of time, and after consultation with the Assistant Headteacher/Headteacher, the parents of all children will be contacted in order to find resolution.

 

 

·         In more extreme cases, e.g. where these initial discussions with parents have proved ineffective, the Assistant Headteacher/Headteacher may contact external support agencies, e.g. Community Police, Youth Offending, Social Care

Responsibility to:

·         Set the school climate of mutual support and praise for success, so making bullying less likely.

·         Implement the school anti-bullying strategy, and to ensure that all staff (both teaching and non-teaching) are aware of the school policy, and know how to identify and deal with incidents of bullying.

·         Report to the governing body about the effectiveness of the anti-bullying policy on request.

·         Ensures that all children know that bullying is wrong, and that it is unacceptable behaviour in this school. Draws the attention of children to this fact at suitable moments e.g. assembly

·         Arrange for all staff to receive sufficient training in order to be equipped to identify and deal with all incidents of bullying.

The governing body supports the headteacher in all attempts to eliminate bullying from our school. The governing body will not condone any bullying at all in our school, and any incidents of bullying that do occur will be taken very seriously, and dealt with appropriately.

Responsibility to:

·         Monitor incidents of bullying that do occur, and reviews the effectiveness of this policy annually. Governors analyse information for patterns of people, places or groups. They look out in particular for racist bullying, or bullying directed at children with disabilities or special educational needs.

·         Require the headteacher to keep accurate records of all incidents of bullying, and to report to the governors on request, about the effectiveness of school anti-bullying strategies.

·         Respond to parental dissatisfaction with the way the school has dealt with a bullying incident. The governing body responds within ten days to any request from a parent to investigate incidents of bullying. In all cases, the governing body notifies the headteacher, and asks him/her to conduct an investigation into the case, and to report back to a representative of the governing body.

In the Pastoral Care Department, an incident file is stored to record all instances of bullying occurring on, and the transfer to/from the school site.  Any adult who witnesses an act of bullying should record this as soon as is practicable and pass on to the pastoral care team, who maintain the file.

 

·         The parents of the perpetrator and also the victim, may be questioned about the incident or about their general concerns.

 

·         The bully will be asked to genuinely apologise and make recompense to the victim.

 

·         The bully will be sanctioned but also supported, in response to the incident/s; this will be decided by the school leadership team and shared with the parents involved and the victim.

 

·         In some cases, outside agencies may be requested to support the school or

 

·         If possible, the pupils will be reconciled.

 

·         After the incident/incidents have been investigated and dealt with, each case

 

This Anti-Bullying Policy should be reading conjunction with the following school policies: Behaviour Policy, Care and Control Policy for Positive Handling, E-Safety, Child Protection; Safeguarding Children, Racism, Equality and Diversity, Community Cohesion, Complaints